Texas oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens proposes a massive switch to natural gas as a transportation fuel and a boost in wind power in a plan aimed at reducing U.S. foreign oil dependence by a more than a third.
"U.S. natural gas can replace foreign oil. It's the only natural resource we have that can do that," Pickens said during a press event for the release of his energy plan.
The 10-year plan would reduce the U.S. annual oil import bill of $700 billion, at oil prices of $140 a barrel, by hundreds of billions of dollars, he said.
Earlier this year, Pickens announced he would spend $10 billion to build the world's biggest wind farm in Texas that should start generating power by 2011.
When asked if his plan is a way to ensure his investments would him even richer, the 80-year-old billionaire said he's not concerned about making still more money.
In the United States, use of natural-gas-powered vehicles is limited mostly to commercial and municipal fleets.